Anybody got a child whose intelligence did not seem to come from the parents?

[Anonymous]

When people say my child got into this or that top school, I sometime wonder about this.

[Anonymous]

Refer to the recent "Downward social mobility" thread. Regression is the norm.

[Anonymous]

My father. He is a twin and one of eight. Clearly a lot smarter than his twin, a bit smarter than rest of the siblings and a lot smarter than his parents, who were sadly pretty uneducated. (Much smarter than me too, which is just the way it is.)

He is an engineer. Couldn’t afford college, only completed correspondence courses and passed engineering exams (40 years ago). Introduced his department to the latest technologies at every stage of his career. Designed his own house (his twin built it) and got it permitted. Counts cards without thinking. (Like, can’t avoid it. It is so annoying.)

So yeah there are people like this…

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My father. He is a twin and one of eight. Clearly a lot smarter than his twin, a bit smarter than rest of the siblings and a lot smarter than his parents, who were sadly pretty uneducated. (Much smarter than me too, which is just the way it is.)

He is an engineer. Couldn’t afford college, only completed correspondence courses and passed engineering exams (40 years ago). Introduced his department to the latest technologies at every stage of his career. Designed his own house (his twin built it) and got it permitted. Counts cards without thinking. (Like, can’t avoid it. It is so annoying.)

So yeah there are people like this…

Fraternal twins then?

[Anonymous]

Regression towards the mean!

[Anonymous]

You ever know how people will combine. Sometimes I think a really smart person and an above average person produce smarter offspring than two smart people. Can think of many examples…

Regression to the mean is a thing, in any event.

[Anonymous]

My parents used to say that they didn't know who I got my intelligence from, or that they were given someone else's baby. My dad was shocked when I told him I got it from him.

He earned his GED 1/2 way through senior year of high school so he could go work in the rail yard. He didn't enjoy school, yet he is the smartest person I know. His memory and recollection of things he read or heard about stick with him forever. He has a deep understanding of concepts most people spend years studying. However, that's not the man most people acknowledge. They still see the class clown who would rather tell jokes than write a paper.

Intelligence comes in many forms, and getting into a certain caliber of institution is just one way to measure.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My parents used to say that they didn't know who I got my intelligence from, or that they were given someone else's baby. My dad was shocked when I told him I got it from him.

He earned his GED 1/2 way through senior year of high school so he could go work in the rail yard. He didn't enjoy school, yet he is the smartest person I know. His memory and recollection of things he read or heard about stick with him forever. He has a deep understanding of concepts most people spend years studying. However, that's not the man most people acknowledge. They still see the class clown who would rather tell jokes than write a paper.

Intelligence comes in many forms, and getting into a certain caliber of institution is just one way to measure.

Oh, we all know the smartest in our families, and it does not necessarily correlate with prestige of undergrad institution.

Geniuses are often a maladjusted, somewhat non-conformist and lazy lot: I am convinced you will find more in flagships than truly elite schools.

[Anonymous]

My child's EQ is off the charts. DH and I just aren't wired that way. We wonder if it's because he did outdoor Waldorf school in his early years...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My father. He is a twin and one of eight. Clearly a lot smarter than his twin, a bit smarter than rest of the siblings and a lot smarter than his parents, who were sadly pretty uneducated. (Much smarter than me too, which is just the way it is.)

He is an engineer. Couldn’t afford college, only completed correspondence courses and passed engineering exams (40 years ago). Introduced his department to the latest technologies at every stage of his career. Designed his own house (his twin built it) and got it permitted. Counts cards without thinking. (Like, can’t avoid it. It is so annoying.)

So yeah there are people like this…

Fraternal twins then?

Yes, fraternal!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My child's EQ is off the charts. DH and I just aren't wired that way. We wonder if it's because he did outdoor Waldorf school in his early years...

All mutations and genetics.

[Anonymous]

My DH. He’s super smart and always has been. His mother is a dingbat and father is average. His brother is a creative type, which is a different type of intelligence.

[Anonymous]

My father was off the charts brilliant. Five older siblings (all a lot older - there was a big gap between him and the rest). Two were somewhat average academically - eeked their way through no name colleges. The other three were not very bright - barely graduated from HS and had very blue collar jobs. Parents were immigrants with little formal education. I think since my dad was the youngest they pushed him harder and a teacher saw some talent and put him in advanced classes early, but he was also just wired very differently. Looks exactly like most of his brothers so definitely the same family...

[Anonymous]

My father-in-law had a photographic memory and was excellent with numbers. His mother is intelligent but no formal schooling. My husband is very smart, but his success has come more from work ethic and EQ. My son got all of it, he’s been an interesting kid since early on. The rest of us are very average haha!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My parents used to say that they didn't know who I got my intelligence from, or that they were given someone else's baby. My dad was shocked when I told him I got it from him.

He earned his GED 1/2 way through senior year of high school so he could go work in the rail yard. He didn't enjoy school, yet he is the smartest person I know. His memory and recollection of things he read or heard about stick with him forever. He has a deep understanding of concepts most people spend years studying. However, that's not the man most people acknowledge. They still see the class clown who would rather tell jokes than write a paper.

Intelligence comes in many forms, and getting into a certain caliber of institution is just one way to measure.

Oh, we all know the smartest in our families, and it does not necessarily correlate with prestige of undergrad institution.

Geniuses are often a maladjusted, somewhat non-conformist and lazy lot: I am convinced you will find more in flagships than truly elite schools.

My son is like this. He is not going to study Spanish if he does not like it, so HS was a struggle but he maxed put rigor in things he liked. He is in college at a state school where he makes more than 70k through different side hustles. Very high SAT and chess rating but B grades because homework submission is not a priority. He is a good networker and has landed great internships because he goes very deep into things he is interested in and some interviewers recognize that. My daughter keeps telling me to not worry about him but I do.